"What is the Tour of FRANCE doing on British roads?"

As anyone with any interest in it whatsoever will already know, Stage 3 of the 2014 Tour de France is to start in Cambridge before heading into London for the end of the British leg of the race. Good reason for my much elation among Cantabrigian cycling fans - and, since the Tour brings with it vast numbers of money-spending tourists and is watched by an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world, good news for Cantabrigians in general, non?

Apparently not, going by some of the comments to have appeared alongside local paper Cambridge News' articles reporting the announcement. Of course, there are the usual trolls that will already be familiar to any regular readers, making the same tired comments they make every time there's a story even vaguely related to bikes and cycling, but in among them are some more interesting comments. Reading through them it becomes clear that, despite the race having existed for more than a century and despite it being arguably the biggest sporting event the world has ever seen, a surprisingly high number of people know virtually nothing about it.

Here's a selection, with answers and explanations by me.

Better get the roads fixed up first before Cambridge faces more law suits for injuries sustained from....

3.5 billion people around the world watch the Tour. Many thousands will travel from other parts of Britain and overseas to see the stage. Cambridge Council - just like French councils, when they hear the Tour is to pay them a visit - won't want to look like it can't look after the roads it's supposed to maintain. So they'll fix 'em, just like the French councils do. Better roads; good for drivers and cyclists alike.

Great, a pile of cyclists and roads closed disrupting everyones day. Just what we need.

The Tour de France was first held in 1903 and has been held every year since with the exception of  1915-1918 and 1940-1946. 2014 will, therefore, be the 101st edition of the race. The people who organise it and make it happen have become extremely good at making sure it goes ahead with the absolute minimum of disruption, attained by a system of rolling road blocks (in which police clear a section of road that moves with the peloton and support vehicles. As cycling fans are aware, watching a race involves several hours of waiting around followed by a few seconds of excitement - since the peloton is generally moving at around 30-35kph, it's gone as soon as it arrives. With the exception of the location of the Tour Village, road blocks will last very little time. The Village, the travelling infrastructure of the Tour, requires some time to be packed up onto trucks; however, since organisers need to get it to London in time for the end of the stage and then load it onto ferries before heading back to France, it too will cause very little disruption.

Well they won't have to worry about potholes in the roads, as most will be riding on the pavement.

Why would they ride on the pavement? Secondly, how would they when all those thousands of fans are crowding onto the pavement to see the race go by?

Let's see them go over the cobbles outside King's. (Note: there is a short and not very rough section of cobbles outside King's College.)

Call those cobbles? Google "Paris-Roubaix" and see the sort of road surfaces the riders face in that race - there's a very good reason it's sometimes called A Sunday In Hell. Many of the riders on the Tour will have ridden Paris-Roubaix or the same cobbled roads during one of the years when the Tour used them. If they can cope with the notorious cobbles of the Trouée d'Arenberg, where careers are broken as regularly as bones, they're really not going to be flustered by the cobbles at King's.

So, a great benefit to Cambridge, eh! As I don't own a shop or an hotel,can I assume all this additional income will be distributed by reducing my Council Tax in 2014? 

Good publicity for Cambridge doesn't pay my bill at the supermarket every week. It's only good for the people who own Cambridge, not us poor "plebs".

tell me how this pile of garbage is going make me better off.Are they going to pay my council tax for using our roads? Are they going to pay my fuel bill for my 4x4 sitting in traffic. Are they going to pay medical bills when they get ploughed over by frustrated drivers

Now. I'm no economist. However, even I can understand that when a city or region gets a massive injection of cash, it benefits all of its inhabitants. The two authors of these three comments are quite right that their council tax bills won't be reduced, but when Mr. and Mrs. Hotel Owner find they've got a few extra thousand quid in their bank account, they'll start spending more - in local shops, restaurants and so on. That way, the money that the cycling fans bring with them and spend here eventually makes its way down to all of us, even us poor plebs. Secondly, riders' medical bills are paid for by their insurance - cycling is a very, very dangerous sport, so much so that professional riders are estimated to have a 1 in 4 chance of spending time in hospital with a serious injury each year. If injured, they're whisked off to see private specialists rather than to a bed in the nearest hospital. Also, they're not going to be ploughed over by frustrated drivers - we're talking about a major international event, as big as the Olympics, with phalanxes of police officers, police cars and the Tour's own security making sure the race and cars are kept separate.

OMG thats all we need a load of illegal immigrants riding through our streets causing havoc. Cant we just sink all ships coming from france and go on strike at airports on the days they arrive .hahha give them dose of own medicine. Havent we got enough problems without importing more. who pays for there medical if get injured? us mugs again

Perhaps it might be wise to learn what the term "illegal immigrant" means before using it? As for medical bills, see above.

Great! Another bunch of drug users in the city, just what we need!!

A load of mad cyclists piling through the city out of their heads on drugs. . .well that will be novel. See it every day!

This should give the drug dealers of Cambridge a welcome boost in these dificult times. Good old Lance

The one thing that people who don't follow professional cycling all know about the sport is that all the riders are on drugs. Erm, the problem is that all the evidence suggests that in actual fact, very few of the riders are on drugs. Granted, not very long ago doping was an epidemic in cycling; two scandals within a decade of one another - the Festina Affair and Operacion Puerto - exposed the dark side of the sport and came very, very close to finishing off the Tour and professional cycling forever. So, cycling responded. The UCI, cycling's international governing body, introduced new rules designed to prevent cheating and catch dopers; now, professional cyclists face far more stringent and regular testing than any other athletes. According to Jonathan Vaughters, manager of the professional Garmin-Sharp team, the 400 riders that make up the 20 ProTour teams (teams that receive an automatic invitation to compete in the Tour) are subjected to 35,000 tests each year - that's around 88 tests per rider, or one test every four days. Perhaps that's why in 2012 only four riders (Ivailo Gabrovski, Frank Schleck, Steve Hounouard, Denis Galimzyanov) tested positive - the tests, and the harsh punishments for those who fail them, have left cycling as one of the cleanest sports around.

Secondly, street drug dealers tend to sell stuff like cannabis, heroin, crack, cocaine, amphetamines and so on. All of those have been used as doping agents in the past, but for years dopers have tended to favour substances such as erythropoietin and red cell-rich blood (either their own or someone else's) - in other words, not things commonly sold ten quid per bag on street corners.

cyclopunkcam: What I know about doping in cycling, I know from Tim Moore's book French Revolutions. From talking to various experts, he draws the conclusion that there are two kinds of winner in the Tour de France: those who take detectable drugs and those who take undetectable ones. Certainly, the majority of winners since 1980 have been caught, which is hardly encouraging!

That's a bloody good book and a superb introduction to the Tour and its history. It's very funny, too. However, two things must be remembered: Tim Moore is a travel writer, not a cycling historian, as he'd probably be the first to admit. Also, French Revolutions was published in 2001, more than a decade ago and before Operacion Puerto. A very great deal has changed - new laws have been put into place and new testing techniques have been developed. have the majority of winner since 1980 been caught out?

Let's see: Joop Zoetemelk won in 1980 and failed enough tests in his career to assume he may have had a little help that year, even though the tests he underwent revealed nothing. Bernard Hinault won in 1981, 1982 and again in 1986 (and in 1978 and 1979, too) - he never tested positive and is a very vocal opponent of doping. Laurent Fignon won in 1983 and 1984 and also never tested positive, though he later admitted to using amphetamines and steroids. If there was ever a rider who didn't dope, it's Greg LeMond, winner in 1986, 1989 and 1990 - LeMond's is probably the loudest of those voices to speak up against doping and he has repeatedly cast aspersions against riders he believes to be dopers: something he wouldn't do if he had anything to hide. In 1987 Stephen Roche became the only Irishman to have won the Tour. No physical proof that Roche doped has ever been found, though an Italian court found convincing evidence to suggest he did. Pedro Delgado won in 1988, despite having tested positive for a drug called Probencid, which is used to treat gout but also disguises the presence of steroids - however, at that time, Probnecid was not on the list of banned substances; though he is therefore officially not a cheat, as he was not suffering from gout there seems no reason not to consider him guilty of doping. Miguel Indurain won five times in a row from 1991 to 1995 - Indurain tested positive for bronchodilator Salbutamol, but had ingested the drug via his asthma medication and cannot be considered a doper. In 1996, Bjarne Riis won; in 2007 he admitted he had doped. In 1997 Jan Ullrich won - there is no doubt that he too was a doper. Marco Pantani, Il Pirata, won in 1998 - Pantani died of a cocaine overdose a few years later, but with the exception of one occasion with the now discredited 50% haematocrit test (which took a count of red blood cells in an attempt to reveal not proof but evidence of a possibility that a rider had used blood doping or EPO), he was never caught using drugs during a race. A certain Texan won seven Tours in a row from 1999 to 2006; following his confession there us no doubt that he doped and he has been stripped of his victories as a result. In 2007, Oscar Pereiro won; like Indurain, Pereiro tested positive for Salbutamol - and provided proof that, as an asthmatic, he had been prescribed the drug by a doctor and was not a doper. Carlos Saste, winner in 2008, never tested positive nor came under suspicion in all of his fourteen years as a professional rider. Alberto Contador won in 2007, 2009 and 2010, but later tested positive for a bronchodilator called Clenbuterol. The amount found in his body was too small to have had any effect and, although he was declared guilty due to being unable to prove that he'd ingested the drug in contaminated beef, the Court for Arbitration in Sport believed that he had probably ingested it in a contaminated food supplement rather than deliberately. He cannot, therefore, be considered a doper; however, he was stripped of his 2010 victory which was then awarded to Andy Schleck, who has never failed a test. Cadel Evans, another vocal opponent of doping, won in 2011 and has never failed a test, nor has 2012 winner Bradley Wiggins.

So, of the 17 riders to have won the Tour de France since 1980, seven were caught out as dopers. Three - Indurain, Pantani and Contador - are questionable; seven appear above beyond suspicion - it is not true that the majority of Tour winners since 1980 are guilty of doping. It's also notable that, if we consider Contador not guilty of intentional doping (as the CAS did, following a very lengthy investigation), then no doper has won the Tour since Armstrong's final victory in 2006. Things are, apparently, getting better.

Will they have to have lights on their bikes?

Unlikely. The Tour takes place in daylight hours, on closed roads.

Tour de France.....???? The clue is in the name..... Sod off back to France...

What is the Tour of FRANCE doing on British roads? Have they run out of roads or something. Surely we should be having the Tour of BRITAIN.

I wouldn't want to label the author of the first comment as a racist because I don't know him or her and, well, it's not a very nice thing to call someone. All the same, if he wants Britain to get rid of all foreign inventions, he'd better stop posting comments on the Internet - it was invented in the USA. He'd better stop using his computer too, because bits and pieces of it will have been made in countries other than this one across the world. If it's only French things he dislikes, he'd better never take or look at a photograph ever again, stop going to the cinema, uninstall DivX from his computer, avoid using anything made of latex, never use a taxi - or a normal car, since the French invented the internal combustion engine, take the pneumatic tyres off his steam-powered external combustion engine car, remove any laminated glass and ball bearings from the car too, never wear jeans or anything else made of denim, rely on his brain for maths rather use a calculator (he can use a pencil to work out the sums, but only until it goes blunt - they invented the pencil sharpener), take his chances with rabies and tuberculosis since he can't have the vaccinations, not take any antibiotics, refuse any blood and bone marrow transfusions he might need in the future - oh, and ask his dentist to only use medieval methods, since the French developed modern dentistry.

So what is the Tour doing in British roads? Well, it's recognising the fact that Bradley Wiggins became the first ever British winner last year. It's also acknowledging British cycling fans - and since we pay just as much "road tax" as drivers do (the cost of building and maintaining roads being met by council tax, rather than Vehicle Excise Duty) and, like every other tax payer in the country, stump up more cash to cover the extra £9 billion needed to build and maintain roads that isn't raised from taxes on fuel and new car sales, why shouldn't we be allowed to have an opportunity to see our sport's greatest race take place over here?

 In fact, it's not at all unusual for the Tour to visit foreign lands - the first time it did so was in 1906, when it dipped into German-controlled Alsace-Lorraine. Foreign visits have become a tradition; the 2013 race will be the first held entirely in France for ten years and 2014 will be the third time the Tour has been to Britain. And, as all cycling fans are aware, there's already a Tour of Britain. It's been around in one form or another since 1945, when it was called the Victory Marathon.

Yorkshire councils are spending 6.5 MILLION of council tax payers money to host this event. No wonder the tax continues to rise while councillors waste taxpayers money on fripperies like this. Anyone any idea whether Cambridgeshire taxpayers are going to foot some of this bill?

If ever there was proof that it's a good idea to finish reading a news report before getting into an irate rage, this is it. Had the author have taken the time to read a little more, he'd have been aware that although Yorkshire Council are paying £6.5 million to host their two stages, they stand to make £100 million. That's a profit of £93.5 million - you don't need an economics degree to know that makes sound financial sense. Cambridge is hosting the start of one stage and the race will spend only a short time on Cambridgeshire roads before moving into Essex and then into London, meaning that the costs of policing etc. will be much lower - while the profits remain high.

Tour de France 2014 will come to Cambridge!

...and the city is to be a stage town! Stage 3 will begin in the ancient university city before heading through Epping Forest and into London, where it'll finish on the Mall at Buckingham Palace.

Anglia TV and the Cambridge News put the word out that they'd appreciate help from any local cyclists willing to appear in film footage and photos for their reports and, despite the freezing temperatures (hence no lycra shorts on show) around thirty showed up, bringing a selection of racing, town and Dutch-style cargo bikes - including one laden with a selection of croissants, cakes and Perrier.

We then spent an hour being interviewed (well, not me - definitely a face for radio) and standing around chatting about cycling, bikes and Cambridge. Great fun, and a chance meeting with a couple of cyclists I'd previously only known online. Might not be such a bad idea to do something similar again, a sort of let's-not-get-in-anyone's-way, posh Cambridge version of Critical Mass (with cakes). Anyone else be up for that?

Monsieur Kipling's French Fancies were on offer, along with
croissants

Local couriers and advocates of all things cycling OutSpoken
brought along their biggest cargo bike

The jury's still out in the helmets debate, but when your head
is made of fake fur and fluffy stuffing it's best to add a hard
layer

Stage 3 map

STOLEN BIKE

STOLEN from Cromwell Road, Cambridge 24/25 July 2012

My black Carrera fixed-gear bike. I bought it specifically for my new job as

a schools cycling safety instructor; hence it has V-brakes front and rear - this

is quite distinctive as most fixie bikes have no brakes or a front brake only - and a flip-flop rear hub (ie; one with a fixed cog on one side and a freewheel cog on the other). It

also has very distinctive "LDN BIKE SWARM" stickers on the top tube of the

frame (probably the only ones in Cambridge, though these may have been removed)

and a slightly tatty saddle.

Having been out of work - and now unable to start my new job - I can't afford to pay

a reward to anyone who either finds it or provides information leading to its return;

however, I will most definitely buy you a beer or three and be happy to provide any bike maintenance you may need.

Cyclopunk@rocketmail.com

Evening Cycling News 11.05.12

Latest - Velonation: "After weeks of deliberation, @LeviLeipheimer will take start of @AmgenTourofCali. Official announcement later today."


Giro Stage 6 - Tour of Chongming Island Stage 3 - Halfords Tour and Johnson HealthTech GP - Ex-Astana boss: "Alberto rode the 2010 Tour de France clean" - Armstrong interview can be interpreted however you want - Lincoln Festival of Cycling - Box Hill graffiti - Other news - Cyclists angered as bike locks cut in Cambridge - Glos. police seek help in cyclist assault case - The news you might have missed - Tweets

Racing

Miguel  Ángel Rubiano

Giro d'Italia Stage 6
Stage 6 was the 2012 Giro's first medium mountain stage, the three Category 3s and single Cat 2 meaning that while the stage looked likely to end with a sprint, the climbers got their first chance to demonstrate form. The parcours began in Urbino, a remarkable walled city on a hilltop, then moved on to the first climb 26km to the south-east - an uncategorised ascent to 433m, followed by a series of smaller hills. Another uncategorised climb of similar height waited at 78km, then the first Cat 3 began at 89km as the race reached Cingoli. The Cat 2 started at 110km - at 772m, it was much smaller than those still to come but, known as the Passo dello Cappella, it was officially the first col of this year's race and saw a crash for Mark Cavendish, who was fortunately unhurt and continued with the race. After passing through Treia, the rider tackled Cat 3 Montelupone (251m) at 152km, then two more uncategorised hills leading to the final Cat 3, Montegranaro (241m), at 170km. There were two final uncategorised climbs in the 29km after Montegranaro, then with 11km to go the race reaches a slightly downhill section into Porto Sant'Elpidio (where Cipolini won Stage 4 on the 28th of May in 1992, suggesting a sprint finish may be on the cards) and the finish line.

Fifteen riders broke away 29km into the stage and managed to get a lead of 8'35" before the Cappella took its toll, leaving Miguel Ángel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) on his own at the front of the race until another seven riders joined him. Despite his hard work, he remained the strongest on Monteluppone and took the King of the Mountain points.

Thor Hushovd was Stage 6's highest-profile victim

Cav was lucky to come out of his crash unharmed, but several others were not as fortunate when the stage turned out to be much harder than it looked on paper. Thor Hushovd (BMC) abandoned the race after 84km, much to the consternation of fans as this sort of parcours usually suits him well. A BMC spokesperson said that she had no details other than that the rider had reported feeling exhausted and that he had been concerned about his current form - after a disappointing Classics season, it looks like the Norwegian is going to need to do a lot of preparation over the coming seven weeks in order to be ready for the Tour de France. Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil-DCM) also abandoned, apparently for similar reasons. Pablo Lastras (Movistar) crashed and looked to have damaged his collarbone after trying to take a corner too fast. Jack Bauer (Garmin-Barracuda) also crashed and seemed in some pain, but fortunately escaped more serious injury; then his team mate Tyler Farrar went down and out later in the stage with an injured hand while Ramūnas Navardauskas was dropped and ended up riding alone.

Rubiano, still at the front, became the first Colombian to win a stage since Luis Felipe Laverde in 2007 when he crossed the line alone to record a time of 5h38'30". He also earned twenty bonification seconds and now leads the King of the Mountains, while Adriano Malori, in second place, picked up a 12" bonus that sees him take the maglia rosa from Navardauskas after escaping and riding solo over the last 30km.

Meanwhile, Cav's luck very nearly ran out as the climbs drained the strength from his legs. He - along with Theo Bos, Graeme Brown and Dennis van Winden (all Rabobank), Taylor Phinney (BMC), Jeremy Hunt (Sky), Sebastien Rosseler (Garmin-Barracuda) - finished the stage 33'12" behind Rubiano, dangerously close to the 33'51" limit that would have seen him disqualified.

Top Ten
  1.  Miguel Angel Chavez Rubiano Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela 5h38'30"
  2.  Adriano Malori Lampre-ISD +1'10"
  3.  Michal Golas Omega Pharma-QuickStep ST
  4.  Alexandr Dyachenko Astana ST
  5.  Cesare Benedetti Team NetApp ST
  6.  Daryl Impey Orica-GreenEDGE +1'51"
  7.  Filippo Pozzato Farnese Vini-Selle Italia ST
  8.  Fabio Sabatini Liquigas-Cannondale ST
  9.  Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi Movistar ST
 10.  Michal Kwiatkowski Omega Pharma-QuickStep ST
(Full stage result and GC)

Holly Blades ‏ @lifeofhollyToday's virtual Pink Jersey Adriano Malori was the Lantern Rouge in the 2010 Tour de France.

Stage 7

Stage 7 (are we really a week into the Giro already?) extends over 205km between Recanati and Rocca di Cambio (the highest village in the Apennines, where evidence of an earthquake in 2009 can still be seen despite the wealth the Campo Felice ski resort has brought). Like Stage 6, it's rated as a medium mountain stage, but the Cat 3 and Cat 2 along the way are far more like proper mountains than Friday's hills - the Cat 3 rises to 1,190m and the Cat 2 to 1,392m (British fans should remember that this "medium mountain" is 48m higher than Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles). Recanati was established as a city in 1150CE, growing up from villages that formed around three castles and became an independent republic 140 years later, but two necropolises dating from Neolithic times are evidence that the region was inhabited long before that. After a short downhill section over the first 5km, most of the first half of the race heads upwards with five hills leading to Cat 2 Col Galluccio beginning at 96.1km. A fast descent leads into a long climb up an uncategorised mountain topping out at 1,152m 142km into the parcours, then it's downhill for the next 46km to a little hill that comes just before the 800m climb to the final few kilometres. The final 3km of this stage is difficult and makes a sprint finish extremely unlikely: the first 1.38km descends around 70m, then the remainder swings steeply upward and climbs 92m in a little over 1.6km and hits a gradient of 10% over one 100m section 0.5km from the finish line. (Profile, final 3km)

The weather for Stage 7 will be very warm at around 25C with light winds of around 7kph. There's is very little chance of rain anywhere along the parcours and even at altitude the temperature will drop no lower than 15C in the late afternoon.

Tour of Chongming Island Stage 3

Melissa Hoskins

Friday's Stage 3 consisted of eleven laps of a 7.2km urban parcours at Shanghai East Beach, a tricky parcours with a number of tight corners including two leading up to the finish line. Melissa Hoskins won two of the three intermediate sprints, then also won the stage to take back the General Classification lead from Monia Baccaille (MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss) thanks to first-rate team work by Orica-GreenEDGE who dominated the race from start to end, only allowing Baccaille to take the third intermediate sprint in order to prepare for stage victory when it became apparent that Hoskins needed to win it if she was to win the GC. With 10km to go, they took full control of the peloton and got Hoskins precisely where she needed to be to beat Baccaille, Liebet de Vocht (Rabobank), Shelley Olds (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) and others to the line. After bonification, she wins overall by one second and will now go into Sunday's Chongming World Cup round as a favourite.


Stage 3 Top Ten

  1.  Melissa Hoskins Orica-GreenEDGE 1h58'212

  2.  Monia Baccaille MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss ST

  3.  Liesbet De Vocht Rabobank ST

  4.  Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl ST

  5.  Rochelle Gilmore Faren-Honda ST

  6.  Jessie Maclean Orica-GreenEDGE ST

Chongming World Cup

  7.  Jutatip Maneephan ST

  8.  Xin Liu China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling ST

  9.  Romy Kasper RusVelo ST

  10.  Emilie Moberg Hitec Products-Mistral Home ST

(Full stage results)

Overall General Classification Top Ten

  1.  Melissa Hoskins Orica-GreenEDGE 6h44'49"
  2.  Monia Baccaille MCipollini-Giambenini-Gauss +1"
  3.  Liesbet De Vocht Rabobank +26"
  4.  Shelley Olds AA Drink-Leontien.nl +27"
  5.  Rochelle Gilmore Faren-Honda +30"
  6.  Jutatip Maneephan +36"
  7.  Emilie Moberg Hitec Products-Mistral Home ST
  8.  Xin Liu China Chongming-Giant Pro Cycling ST
  9.  Romy Kasper RusVelo ST
  10.  Jessie Maclean Orica-GreenEDGE ST
(Full GC results)



Halfords Tour and Johnson HealthTech GP
The third Halfords Tour Series gets underway next week, once again bringing exciting short-course criterium cycling into the heart of several British cities. The format is simple: set out a tight, fast urban parcours and then have the ten teams (CyclePremier-Kovert Racing, Endura Racing, Herbalife-Leisure Lakes, Hope Factory Racing, IG-Sigma Sport, Metaltek-Scott, Node4-Giordana, Raleigh-GAC, Rapha-Condor-Sharp and UK Youth, guest teams to be announced) battle it out and declare the team with the lowest cumulative score for their first three riders over the finish line the winner. That this works is made evident by the fact that not only has the series has been extended from eight races last year to twelve for 2012, television coverage proved popular last year with an average of almost a quarter of a million viewers for each race; which has encouraged ITV4 to provide a one-hour highlights programme for each meet this year.

Halfords Tour Series
1. Tuesday, May 15 - Kirkcaldy (ITV4 May 16 10pm)
2. Thursday, May 17 - Durham (ITV4 May 18 8pm)
3. Tuesday, May 22 - Oxford (ITV4 May 23 8pm)
4. Thursday, May 24 - Redditch (ITV4 May 25 8pm)
5. Friday, May 25 - Aberystwyth (ITV4 May 28 8pm)
6. Tuesday, May 29 - Peterborough (ITV4 May 30 8pm)
7. Thursday, May 31 - Canary Wharf, London (ITV4 June 1 8pm)
8. Tuesday, June 5 - Torquay (ITV4 June 6 8pm)
9. Thursday, June 7 - Colchester (ITV4 June 8 8pm)
10. Tuesday, June 12 - Woking (ITV4 June 13 8pm)
11. Thursday, June 14 - Stoke-on-Trent team time trial (ITV4 June 15 10pm)
12. Thursday, June 14 - Stoke-on-Trent (ITV4 June 15 10pm)


In 2011, the four-round Johnson HealthTech Women's GP Series was run alongside the Halfords Tour, using the same infrastructure and parcours. It too proved enormously successful and has been extended to five rounds this year as a result. Helped enormously by TV coverage (again provided as part of ITV4's Halfords Tour programmes for 2012), the series has done an excellent job of raising the profile of women's racing and the athletes who took part, so much so that Johnson HealthTech managing director Jon Johnston is proudly able to claim that the series encouraged the formation of several new teams. So there we go - proof that if men's and women's races work together, everyone wins. Get to it, Tour of Britain.


A full list of teams competing in the GP has yet to be published, thus far For Viored, Node4-Giordana and Matrix Fitness-Prendas are confirmed.


Johnson HealthTech GP Series
1. Tuesday, May 22 - Oxford
2. Tuesday, May 29 - Peterborough
3. Thursday, June 7 - Colchester
4. Tuesday, June 12 - Woking
5. Thursday, June 14 - Stoke-on-Trent


Ex-Astana boss: "Alberto rode the 2010 Tour de France clean"

Ex-Astana manager Yvon Sanquer, who left the Kazakh-registered team in 2010 at the same time as Alberto Contador left for SaxoBank, is convinced that the Spanish rider did not dope at the Tour de France that year.

"I had paid a lot of attention to the doping issue at Astana," he told Cycling News. "Alberto rode the 2010 Tour de France clean. From where we started in October 2009 until the win in July, a lot of good work was done.

Lance Armstrong: "In my mind, I’m truly done. You can interpret that however you want."
In an interview with Men's Journal, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong says that he will not fight any future doping investigations - which has inspired at least one website, Velonation, to ask in a roundabout way if this could be indication that the Texan is tired of lying.

Far be it from this blog to defend Armstrong - who, while I happen to dislike the man, has never been proved to have doped and is therefore in my opinion innocent unless anyone ever produces reliable evidence to suggest otherwise - but, as is almost invariably the case, reading between the lines reveals nothing blank space into which can be inserted any sort of meaning that takes the reader's fancy. When asked, for example,  how he would feel were he to be stripped of his seventh Tour victory, he answers: "I wouldn't be unhappy." Does that mean he knows he doesn't deserve it? Not necessarily - it can also be read as simply meaning that he's tired of fighting (as he says, "I’m done fighting. I’ve moved on") and would be content with a place in history as a six-time Tour winner.

"We all want to be loved, we all want to be respected, we all want to be thought of as fair and ethical and admirable men," he adds. "But very few people are unimpeachable. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that there are always going to be questions."

These sound more like the words of a man who can no longer be bothered with the battle rather than one about to make a confession.

Lincoln Festival of Cycling
818 riders have already signed up to take part in Lincoln's Grand Prix Sportive, with more expected to join on the day - not bad going, considering last year's edition was the first time the event had ever been held.

The sportive is followed on Sunday by the Grand Prix race, now in its 57th year, in which riders complete thirteen laps of a circuit beginning at Yarborough Sports Centre and ending 164km later by the cathedral at the top of the cobbled Michaelgate climb, which rivals the climbs of the Flanders Classics with its maximum gradient of 16.2%. (More sportive details and entry forms)

Box Hill hit by graffiti "artist"
Shock! Horror! Some ne'er-do-well crept up Box Hill last night with a can of white paint and painted a big - er - male reproductive organ on the road! The crudely depicted genitalia appears to be about six metres in length, probably in an attempt to make it unmistakable for the helicopters filming the Olympic road race. Police say they have no idea who the culprit may have been, but confirm that having had a look at the crime scene they've ruled absolutely anyone with any artistic talent out of the investigation.

British cycling fans, well-used to seeing the sort of things that those uncouth Continental types scrawl over the roads at the Grand Tours, are not particulary offended - in fact, most are more surprised that it doesn't seem to have been done using LOCOG-approved graffiti paint (available from official suppliers throughout Britain for only ten times the price of any other sort of paint*).

Of course, it might also be a comment on the recent announcement that anyone wishing to see the race from the best spots on the hill will have to pay. Tickets priced at £10-£15 are, not unexpectedly, available from LOCOG - the money-grabbing cocks.

(Related: "Surrey Police warning over London 2012 cycle race tickets" BBC / "Cycling is free. Someone forgot to tell the Olympic organisers" The Guardian)

*Thanks, @redster73 ;-)

Other News
"Bedford 2-Day round up" (On The Drops)

"Cycling Derby calls for urgent help to save city's planned velodrome" (road.cc)

"Welcome to the Hope Show" (Kathryn Bertine, ESPNW)

"Geox to return to cycling?" (Cycling News)

"John-Lee Augustyn takes indefinite break from pro career" (Velonation)

"Howe and Atkins dispute events after Speed Week crash, USA Cycling to investigate alleged deliberate take down" (Cycling News)

"Cyclists call for 250-metre track" (NationNews, Barbados)

"Cycling: Shepley cyclist Leon Gledhill wins gold in London Schools Games" (Huddersfield Examiner)

Cycling
Bike locks cut at Cambridge station
Cambridge's train station has been crying out for new bike park facilities for years - the sheer number of bikes used daily in the city means that very often all the spaces are filled with riders having to search out lamp-posts on nearby streets, blocking paths and creating friction with pedestrians - so the news that things would be improved with the multi-million pound CB1 redevelopment of the area was very welcome indeed. Therefore, the recent installation of new bike racks - including two-tier models, which vastly increase capacity - was not before time.  However, the installation of the new racks, which was carried out by Cambridgeshire County Council on behalf of rail operator Greater Anglia, has been called into question by several cyclists who returned to where their bikes had been left and discovered that their locks had been cut and their machines placed into storage. Among them was Cambridge's Liberal Democrat MP, keen cyclist Dr. Julian Huppert.

"My bike was left in the section of racks to be removed, although of course I had no idea of this, as there were no signs facing the direction of the bike racks," Dr. Huppert told the Cambridge News. "I came back to see the new racks being put together. I then went to get my bike – and realised that where I’d left it was no longer a bike rack. I did get my bike back, but had to buy a new lock."

"Advance publicity was provided at the station to warn rail passengers of the installation of the new racks and we also consulted with local stakeholders to inform them of the work," a spokesperson for Greater Anglia said - anyone who has ever had to use the city's currently woefully inadequate station (CB1 includes its biggest revamp since 1845) during peak times will be well aware that it becomes so crowded that any sort of publicity could easily be missed. "Any customer who has encountered any problems regarding this matter should contact the station manager at Cambridge, who will be happy to help."

Dr. Huppert: "I am very pleased that the new bike racks are being installed – we desperately need the extra capacity, and I have been working to push this scheme ahead for some time – however, it is a great shame that because not enough signs were put up, people did not realise what would happen, and so needlessly locks had to be cut."

Were you affected and had to buy a new lock? You can contact Greater Anglia via this webpage - make sure you request that they phone you (rather than you phoning National Rail Enquries' rip-off... er... revenue-sharing 0845 customer services number) - and you might just be able to get them to buy you a replacement.

Glos. Police appeal for help in cyclist assault case
Gloucestershire Police are trying to trace a woman who reported on the 28th of January that she had been assaulted by a cyclist who was holding traffic, but didn't leave a name. Seems straightforward so far, doesn't it? The investigation started to get strange when they discovered footage on Youtube, which they believe shows the incident - and reveals that in actual fact, the woman appears to have first assaulted the cyclist, chasing him and trying to push him off his bike and then kicking him after he retaliates.

The incident is thought to have occurred at 12.25pm on the B4425 at Ampney Coln near Bibury. If you recognise the woman or believe you know who may have filmed the incident, Gloucestershire police would like to hear from you - you can contact them by dialing 101 or speak to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Newswire - what you might have missed
Britain
"Your Pictures - Cycling" (BBC)

"Staff and pupils at Crombie, Elrick and Westhill primary schools are celebrating after receiving a national award in recognition of their commitment to cycling" (Donside Piper)

Worldwide
"Local cyclist’s death prompts call for release of provincial cycling strategy" (The Record, Canada)

"Bike thefts feed a vicious cycle" (The Gazette, Canada)

"Aichi school's 'cyclist's license' keeping kids safe" (Japan Times)

Tweets

Hannah Walker ‏ @spannawalkerVery nearly just got wiped out by some tw*t driver. When I got to her at the lights, her excuse was because I dont pay roadtax! #ButIDoIdiot

Not Pat McQuaid ‏ @UCI_OverlordFINALLY. @markcavendish begins the backwards trek to the pastry wagon. I thought we were going to see MountainCav hang with the peloton.

Josh Owen Morris ‏ @JoshOwenMorrisSrsly, Geox's marketing types need a proper slap. Canning so many people's jobs then waltzing back in with another lover a year later?

Marianne Vos ‏ @marianne_vosHow to end up offroad in a road training, part 3874... Note to self: don't take roads not on the map. Note to self 2: watch out for goats;-)

Daily News Digest 09.03.2012

13:52 09.03 - Bauke Mollema is the latest rider to abandon Paris-Nice. The 26-year-old Rababank rider is said to be suffering from 'flu. Further reports state that Ivan Basso has also abandoned, though no reason has been given - the rider has noticeably not been on top form to date in the race.

Just days after the salvation of the Basque Country's two most important races was confirmed, a number of Dutch events are on the block - including the Dwars door Drenthe where organisers are considering whether this year should be the last. "With reduced income from both government and sponsors, it's increasingly difficult to organise an event of this calibre," says John Van Den Akker of the Cycling Service race management company. (More details here.)

It's been rumoured for some time that a number of professional teams are considering forming a breakaway racing league, probably with increased funding from the teams themselves so as to make the league less dependent on commercial sponsorship. Now Bloomberg says it has received information from an un-named source that management firm Gifted Group Ltd. has approached the UCI to get the go-ahead after eight teams expressed an interest in the league, which would see ten major races running alongside existing events - the races would be slotted in around the WorldTour, but clashes with smaller events would be all but unavoidable. Garmin-Barracuda and RadioShack-NissanTrek are both believed to be involved, while some other teams have decided to opt out. (More details here.)

Chloe Hosking beat some
very stiff opposition
indeed today
(image credit: jjron GNU1.2)

Australian Chloe Hosking continued her Specialized-Lululemon team's stunning first season today when she won the Drentse 8 Van Dwingeloo, snatching victory in the final sprint from current World Road Race Champion Giorgia Bronzini and Marianne Vos, frequently rated the best cyclist in the world today. Twelve women fought to the line with the sheer talent on display making the triumph an even sweeter one for the 21-year-old. Sharon Laws of AA Drink-Leontien.nl was best-placed Brit in 18th place, 11" behind Hosking. (Full results and video available here.)

Lieuwe Westra
(image credit: heb CC BY-SA 3.0)

It's been very obvious that Lieuwe Westra wanted to win a stage at this year's Paris-Nice - the 29-year-old Dutchman has spent much race so far either attacking the peloton or riding out ahead of it in breakaways. His chance came today when he decided he'd have a go at taking on yellow jersey Bradley Wiggins in the final kilometre and surprised even himself by grabbing a 100m advantage: "Unbelievable!" he said afterwards. With three stages to go, Wiggins retains his 6" lead in the overall General Classification whilst Westra knocks 38-year-old American Levi Leipheimer into third place. Alejandro Valverde, winner of Stage 3, was second over the line with Wiggo third. (Stage and overall results available here.)

Tom Veelers is the latest to abandon Paris-Milan due to illness. The 27-year-old Dutchman, who won the Under-23 Paris-Roubaix in 2006 and came third in the prologue at last year's Tour of Qatar, is suffering from a fever and headaches, leaving him unsure if he will be able to join his 1t4i team at the upcoming Milan-San Remo.

Cavendish

Meanwhile, over at the Tirreno-Adriatico, riders faced hills in the first half of 230km Stage 2 followed by a relatively flat second half and sprint-friendly final 500m - and since Mark Cavendish is taking part, there was only ever one likely outcome to that one. The Manx Missile didn't go unchallenged, however: Garmin-Barracuda did an excellent job of getting Tyler Farrar into a position where he had as much of a chance as anyone could ever hope for of beating him, then Katusha's Óscar Freire saw an opportunity to sneak up beside them and came within a hairs-breadth of taking glory for himself in what be one of the most thrilling sprint finishes so far this season. A crash in the last couple of kilometres held up the larger portion of the peloton, ensuring all but the slowest riders get the same time for today and initially looking far worse than it was. (Stage and overall results available here.)

NODE4 Giordano Racing's Marcin Bialoblocki won a very wet and windy 40th Severn Bridge Road Race. (More details here.)

A driver with multiple convictions for speeding has been handed a reduced 18-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of dangerous driving resulting in the death of Commonwealth Games cyclist David McCall. Michael Gerard Croombe was speeding when he hit Mr. McCall in 2008 and at first left the scene, but later thought better of it and returned. He was originally imprisoned for five years when a court found him guilty of causing death by dangerous driving but the sentence was reduced on appeal when it was found that Croombe would probably not have hit the cyclist had a dog not run into the road, though the judge informed that he is someone who drives "in a manner to suit yourself, and other road users have to take actions to avoid you."

A row has broken out in Cambridge over whether or not cyclists should be expected to pay for new bike parking facilities at the strain station in the city, which is said to have one of the highest rates of bike use in the UK. It's been evident for some time that existing facilities are inadequate with cyclists wishing to leave their machines at the open-air bike racks in front of the station often having to spend some time locating a space and sometimes have to find other places nearby - which has led to problems in the past when a small number have locked their bikes to a disabled ramp or blocked pavements. The area around the station is undergoing massive redevelopment with a 3000 space, £2.5 million bike park planned - the largest in the United Kingdom. £500,000 has been supplied by the Government with local authorities and bodies involved in the redevelopment responsible for the rest - which is where the problems come in, as the most obvious way to finance it is by asking the cyclists who will use it to pay for doing so. Some cyclists have branded the scheme outrageous, which has led to accusations that all cyclists are free-loaders, while others support the scheme - not least of all because the bike park would be fitted with CCTV, and bike theft has reached near epidemic proportions in the city.

As Cambridge residents and victims of bike theft in the past, we feel that the proposed £1-per-day (with concessions for monthly and annual ticket holders) is fair and worth paying provided the safety and security of our bikes is guaranteed - in fact, we'd pay more. However, we do foresee an increase in bikes locked up elsewhere by those who don't wish to pay or simply judge their machines to be of too little value to worry about; as is apparently the case with many people going by the sheer number of decrepit bikes that have been locked up in the current park for some time. We think, therefore, that a partial deposit scheme might be a better option - ask cyclists to pay £1 and give back 50p when they collect their bikes, charging them the full £1 for each extra day their bike is left there.

On yer bike around Cambridgeshire today?

Cyclists and drivers out on the roads of Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and nearby are asked to keep an eye out for John Lumbers, an 82-year-old cyclist who left his home in Hauxton, Cambs at 3pm yesterday and hasn't been seen since. Police are concerned about his whereabouts and safety and have described as slim, around 1.80m (5'11") tall. He was wearing a red, white and black cycling jacket, grey cycling shoes and grey tweed trousers when he left home. His bike is a red Mercian road model, similar to the one in the picture below.

If you see him or have any information as to his whereabouts, please call Cambridgeshire Police on 0345 4564564.

John Lumbers, 82, went missing on the 11th of November. Police are concerned for his well-being

Update 13.11.11: Police have found a body, believed to be that of a man in his 80s, in a lake near the village of Little Shelford south of Cambridge and very close to Mr. Lumbers' home. They have yet to release further details.

Ghost Bikes

Some readers will be aware that, when not writing about cycling and attempting to control our four ferrets, I've also been setting up a very loosely-organised group here in Cambridge with the aim of creating some ghost bike memorials around the city, both to commemorate our fallen friends and to increase awareness of cyclists among drivers and the need to ride safely among cyclists.

Recently, I was contacted by a journalist from the Cambridge News paper, wanting to an article on ghost bikes and the group. Initially, since the group is at present a blog, a Facebook page and a few people showing interest, I was reluctant; but agreed in the hope of spreading the word.

The article was published today and can be read here. My thoughts upon it are here.

Fire at Cambridge bike shop

The fire, at the Electric Transport Shop in Hope Yard just off the city's popular and most cosmopolitan street Mill Road was noticed and reported soon after breaking out and firefighters with breathing apparatus and a thermal imaging camera were quickly able to locate the source of the flames and extinguish them. The shop sells a wide range of electric bikes from the premises which are located in a converted stable block.

Damage was limited to the front doors and surrounding carpet tiles, says the shop's owner Eddie Kehoe who is a well-known figure on the Cambridge cycling scene.

Fire investigation experts are due to return to the shop today to try to find out for certain what caused the fire, which is at present being blamed on an electrical fault - which we'll do Mr. Kehoe the favour of pointing out means a fault in the building's wiring and not in one of his electric bikes, in case it puts off prospective customers.

Longer lorries in cities concerns

The Cambridge Cycling Campaign (with which this blog is not affiliated, by the way) has raised concerns over government plans to permit lorries as long as 15.5m in length to use city streets, including the already crowded roads of Cambridge, replacing the current limit of 13.5m. Articulated vehicles of any length swing out into the road when negotiating bends and corners, with the amount increased greatly for every metre of total length. In addition, drivers of long vehicles have numerous blind spots and may clip kerbs when turning - a factor that accounts for more than a few deaths among cyclists who get trapped between the lorry and the kerb, sometimes falling under the rear wheels before they can either hop up the kerb or leap out of the way and abandon their bike to a grisly end. Elderly cyclists are particularly at risk.

This is bad enough in modern towns and cities, but in a place like Cambridge where large parts were laid out during Medieval times - Medieval town planners being somewhat negligent in not predicting the future development of huge lorries - it's so dangerous as to approach lunacy. With a number of large stores in the City Centre (Sainsbury, Marks and Spencer, Next and the various Bland Arcade "attractions"), there's every chance that the area will become even more dangerous for cyclists than it already is. Add to this the standard of cycling and awareness demonstrated by some cyclists around town and it'll only be a matter of time before the first messy death.

The plan's aim is to reduce the total number of vehicles required to visit a store each week - 2m added to a lorry's total length allows a lot more cargo to be put onboard. That's admirable, because lorries create an enormous amount of pollution - however, big lorries are completely unsuitable for city use for all of the reasons given above. One solution would be the establishment of a system similar to the park and ride buses in which lorries above a certain length (or, ideally, any length) would be required to stop at an out-of-town depot and their cargo be offloaded into smaller electric vans and lorries which could then ferry it to destinations in the city. It'd be expensive to set up but would only need to run between set times covering busy periods - perhaps 8am to 7pm -and once in place costs could be largely offset by charging those companies relying upon the system to pay towards it. You want to trade in our vibrant, profitable city? Well, you'll have to help us keep it a pleasant place. It'd create jobs, too.

When an articulated lorry negotiates a tight turn, the cab and trailer can swing out into traffic posing a potentially lethal hazard for cyclists.

In the meantime, what should a cyclist do to keep himself or herself safe around juggernauts? The best option by far is maintain as great distance between you and it as it's possible to do - just because you can see it doesn't mean the driver can see you (and assume there's a reasonable chance he or she isn't paying much attention anyway), and he or she might not be aware that when the trailer rounds the corner the back wheels are going to roll up onto the kerb. If you find yourself behind a lorry and have any reason to believe it's going to turn (they don't always indicate!), hang back and wait until the driver's intentions are clear. You'll probably get a faceful of diesel fumes, but it's better than a faceful of tyre with 50 tons resting on it. If you find yourself waiting at traffic lights before a lefthand corner with a lorry behind you, sit upright so the driver can see you and, if necessary, edge forward because they can't always see anything right in front of the cab. Jump the lights slightly if need be (and if it's safe to do so) so you can be round the corner before the lorry even gets going and remain in the middle of the lane so they can't push you into the gutter. Once there's more room, move to the kerbside and let it pass. If it's a righthand corner, the same applies - jump the lights if it's safe, don't be afraid to take the middle of the lane  and make sure the driver sees you. Or, once again, hang back and keep out of the way.

Alternatively, it might clip the corner to avoid swinging out - so you don't want to be down that side either.

When you're waiting to turn right at a crossroad, a lorry driver behind you who wishes to turn left may try to squeeze past you as the lights change - this is when you need to watch out for the trailer swinging out into your space. Keep right, crossing the central line if there's no oncoming traffic and if safe to do so jump the lights. Just hope there isn't a bored copper lurking a few cars back in the queue!

Cambridge Guided Busway cyclepath to be 100% tarmac

Cambridgeshire County Council has announced that it has successfully secured £150,000 from Sustrans which will be used to tarmac the Guided Busway cyclepath between Swavesey and St. Ives, a section of about 5.5km, which was going to be left with a much rougher crushed limestone surface due to lack of funding. This means, according to the estimates of one Cambridgeshire cyclist, that it will be possible to travel from St. Ives to the city's Milton Road in around 30 minutes which will hopefully encourage a few more people to use their bikes and leave their cars at home.

The cyclepath has been a long time coming, but determined cyclists have put  bus tracks to good use in the meantime.

The Busway itself is supposedly going to open on August the 7th, but the date has been set back so many times that few residents expect it to actually happen. Meanwhile, the cyclepath is almost completed already with the majority open to the public.

Path Profiler app

Ever thought how handy it'd be if you could have one of those route profiles like you get to show the climbs, altitudes and descents on each stage of a bike race? Well, you can provided you have the relevant Ordnance Survey map, a pencil and the know-how.

But what if you haven't got any of those or are riding further afield, perhaps somewhere where OS maps aren't available, such as Foreign? The answer is here - a very useful little application that uses Google Maps, allowing you to select a start, several checkpoints and a finish, and then - as if by magic but probably actually using algorithms or sumfink, draws the desired profile for you. What's more, you can have it in Imperial or metric too. This can then be used alongside a gradient calculator, such as the one here.

Find it here. 

The page is ugly, but it works and that's what matters!

Example: Cambridge - Haverhill - Great Thurlow - Bury St. Edmunds - Newmarket - Cambridge, 100km following the A roads. (Click to see it full-size, which makes it look a lot better)